Two Harpers, one timeline and a fistful of regrets
by Cid Dante
Summary: An event in the future causes Harper to try and reset the past. All the while he has to keep his mission secret from Trance.
1. Default Chapter

Title: two harpers, one timeline and a fistful of regrets

Genre: Action/ adventure

Pairings/ Nope.

Rating: PG-13 for now.

Summary: An event in the future causes Harper to try and reset the past. All the while he has to keep his mission secret from Trance.

Disclaimers: don't own. Wish I did, the folk that make it do. I just enjoy being mean to the gorgeous Harper.

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Future

He looked down with a hint of sadness at the person lying at his feet. He knew them, knew them well in fact. No, not knew them now…he had known them. Everything would be past tense now when he spoke about them.

He had lived with them for a good few years and now? Well, they were kinda with the Devine now. Things had gone from bad to worse in point zero of a second and he was so very much wanting them to go back to being good.

Consoles and screens exploded around him, the enemy coming ever closer. Nothing was the same, he knew it could never be the same.

The only way was to change it but not everyone was like the golden warrior Trance who had used the temporal distortions that had sprung up to travel back in time.

Sides, that machine was currently in the now disintegrated machine shop 17, along with the aforementioned time traveller. It meant he had the other choice…the 50/50 choice.

A smile played faintly on his tired face, the images of past watermelons and Trance's, the old purple one's, plants being blown across the machine shop. That had been a good day for him, he had defied the laws of physics then and had managed to get the captain laid. Hoping that it would perhaps alleviate the tension between him and the ever sexy Rommie.

It didn't. All it accomplished was the older blonde getting more broody and slightly more ratty.

The small man knelt down beside the bloody red blonde, no tears threatened to spill from his blue eyes. Shakily he stretched out his fingers to gently stroke away the bloody locks of hair.

"I'll change the future Beka," he promised to the corspe, "Even if it means I have to die myself."

He stood up slowly, blinking to make sure the tears stayed away from his eyes.

His hand kept a tight grip on the force lance he now carried, his pulse thundered loudly in his ears. If one of the bastards that had boarded the Andromeda crept up behind him, he wouldn't of heard them.

His short but fairly eventful life would be over in a matter of seconds then. No second chance for anyone.

"Okay Harper…Don't screw this up. The fate of the ship is own your expert hands," he muttered as he crawled through the large hole in the wall.

After a few minutes of crawling through large holes and seeing the dead bodies of his friends he reached the machine shop. The one with the whole security codes that only he and Dylan knew about. The one with the really dangerous weapons.

The one with the time transporter, the only thing that could change the future.

"Viva la France," he said as he stepped onto it.

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Andromeda, present 

"Dylan," Rommie's voice sounded cool and collected, nothing unusual there, "I think you should go to Machine Shop 17."

Andromeda's captain looked up to where the hologram stood, looking through his sandy brown hair.

"Machine Shop 17? Why?"

"It seems like something is going on in the shop," the female said, "Harper is currently on the bridge."

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Harper is on the bridge? Why did she tell me that? Dylan thought.

"Okay…" Dylan's voice had amusement laced through it, "Wait a minute…machine shop 17?"

"Yes."

The idea of a nice leisurely walk down to the area was short lived and he sprinted down to the room.

Rommie, the avatar stood patiently outside of the machine shop, waiting for her captain to thunder down in three…two…one…

"Wha…why did you call me down here?" he panted as he caught up to her.

She never answered as a muted gun shot came through the door. Without having to be asked, she over rode the security codes to gain access to the cluttered room.

Dylan grasped his force lance and ever the gentleman, stepped cautiously in the room. He held his breath as the air felt electric and the hairs on the back of his neck stood on edge.

It felt vaguely familiar, like the room had been filled with static.

"Hello?" he commanded, "Who's in here?"

Rommie caught the being who lunged at him, expertly restraining the would be attacker.

"Let go!" the attacker spat and clawed at her, not happy at having to be restrained.

The smell that was coming from the small struggling man was to say the least was unpleasant but something seemed familiar about him.

"Who are you?" Dylan edged closer, not trusting to get any nearer.

"……Harper. I'm Seamus Harper," the young man said before he passed out. 


	2. chapter 2

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Thanx to all the people who reviewed! Who hoo! (Drakcir, get in line! I want him 1st! :P the five tailed Youko, I think they listened! :P Lani, they…damn, cant tell the plot, have u seen a shower in the ship? Yes! :P)

Sorry…(get's slapped by her muses) it's like 4 in the morning when I'm writin the 1st part of this chapter so…

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Dylan frowned in confusion as he looked at Rommie. How in the Devine was this Harper? Harper was, if Rommie was correct and she usually was, on the bridge.

"Harper?" he called out loudly, knowing the Andromeda would sense he was trying to call the energetic young blonde, "Where are you right now?"

Harper's voice came through clearly on the ship's speakers, "Currently trying to convince Trance for a threesome with me and Rommie."

"No he's not," came the ever soothing voice of Trance Gemini, "He's sulking because he can't seem to fix one of the Andromeda's blind spots."

Dylan was in no mood to hear the childish fight that would undoubtedly emerge in a few seconds between the two. Nor was he interested in what perverse little plan the ever lustful man had in store for his ship's avatar.

"Are you or are you not on the bridge right now Mister Harper?" he barked out a little more harshly than he would of liked.

Sounding like a whipped pup, Harper's voice sounded subdued.

"On the bridge, where you told me to be boss bug," the engineer stated, "Why?"

Rommie silently confirmed the answer, both of them looked at the unconscious form of the intruder.

"…Just checking, don't be playing chicken with my ship," Dylan tried to sound a little bit more friendlier, not wanting to cause any suspicions within the mind of his crew.

"Dylan, I would never play chicken! Maybe a friendly little race but nev…," once again, Trance saved the genius of an engineer from digging his grave that little bit deeper.

"I'll keep an eye on him Dylan," she purred.

Somehow, that didn't put Dylan's mind fully at ease, knowing full well that Trance would either keep her word or either get caught up in one of Harper's mad cap get-rich-quick-schemes or something else the blonde thought of or do something that would only be known to the likes of herself.

"Somehow, that doesn't make me feel any more happier," Dylan muttered, "or safer."

Rommie offered him a one sided smile as she cut the comms before he said that. The small intruder in her arms squirmed slightly against her grip but made no signs of wakening.

"So," Dylan rubbed his eyes tiredly, "what exactly are we dealing with?"

Rommie conferred with all her sensors and her other avatars within a second, all telling her the same info. She held Seamus Harper in her android arms.

DNA, heartbeat, voice pattern, everything matched. The only thing was, was that Harper was on the bridge. So how was this possible?

"It's Harper," she offered after that second, "The only way to learn more is if we cut him open and checked his vital organs."

"What would that prove?" Dylan seemed to of lost the joke somewhere.

"I was kidding Dylan, we just have to wait to talk to him" Rommie stated, "but I am detecting residual PSP markers."

Dylan looked sharply up, his blue eyes locking on sharply to the brunette avatar. PSP? Those were dangerous at the best of times and only the local bad guys had access to that kind of power.

"Meaning?" Dylan pushed for an answer, unsure if he really wanted one.

All answers concenring PSP and their ilk all meant one bad thing. Glowing magog gods and really nasty bounty hunters who want Harper's brain.

"We'd have to ask this Harper," she offered.

Dylan sighed and shrugged, "Fine, take him to the medical bay and I guess we wait until he wakes up."

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"What the hell is that?"

"I don't know but it's heading right for us."

"Can't you make it stop following us?"

"I would but the engines aren't working."

"I'm trying my best down here but it doesn't help when people are currently being blown up in my engineering deck ok?!"

"Dylan, it's Trance. I think you should come to machine shop…"

"Trance? Trance?! Rommie locate Trance now!"

"……she's gone Dylan……"

A startled cry came from Harper's lips as he bolted upright, his heart beat thundering in his chest so loud that he thought they would explode right out of him.

The sudden silence of the room he was in filled him even more with concern, it didn't feel right, he needed to hear noise. Something to let him know that he wasn't alone in a cold harsh and dead ship.

All he could hear was the sudden sound of Trance's scream echoing through out the ship's communication systems as the golden goddess was ripped from the safety of the ship. Try as he might, he couldn't stop the imagined image of her floating through the cold vastness of space. Couldn't stop thinking about the look of fear on his best friend's face.

He hugged himself tighter as he closed his eyes, trying to block out all the images that threatened to over fill his mind. He didn't want to deal with any of this. All of this was too new…he wasn't the one who should be playing hero.

That job was always left to Dylan, he was the heroic boy scout of the rag tag crew. The rest of them were just there for the ride. As he said to Beka one time, it beat running cargo all the time.

Whenever things got too rough or scary, he had always been ordered to go and run to the nearest little safe place and wait it out. No matter how much he protested and wanted to help in the fight.

Tyr was right, he was in over his head.

He rocked himself back and forth on the comfy med bed, listening to the creaks it made as he moved. Did he do it? Had he travelled back in time? Had he done it right?

Of course he did it right, he was Harper. He always did things right.

"Aw man, who am I kidding? I'm not Tyr, Beka or anyone else for that matter. I can't do this hero crap," he moaned softly.

Harper held back tears as he hugged his knees even tighter to his form, he rested his forehead on them and sniffed back the salty droplets. Could he really afford to mourn over the deaths of those he cared about?

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Maybe I could tell Dylan about this and he could make it all go away. Make sure that it never happens! Maybe…maybe even Trance. She didn't know that this was gonna happen or she would never of went to the machine shop! Harper thought feverishly, making some sort of escape plan so that he didn't have to deal with the huge responsibilities of saving his friends lives.

Give him a good old, mechanical-your-all-going-to-die-in-10-seconds-from-an-overload problem and he's your man but saving lives by placing himself in danger?

Sorry but you got the wrong guy.

He looked up with red rimmed eyes as he heard the medical bays door quietly open. He didn't know whether or not to go leaping behind the bed or to go running up to the visitor.

"Hey boss bug."

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It's okay right? I mean, for an hour's piece of work? Done at like…4.15am and finished at 5.15am…..zzzzz huh? Uh….ok? Right? Love ya!!!!

zzzzzzzzzz 


	3. time to bring in the plot

Hello! Yeah…it has been a while since I last wrote an Andromeda chapter…for any of them! Everything has been getting neglected with me…my boyfriend, ma mates…my tv shows.

People have probably forgotten this even exists! Anyhow, chapter three for all you nice folk.

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Med Bay…

"So, you're Seamus Harper? My Harper?" Dylan Hunt asked almost straight away, he didn't want to waste any time.

"Yeah. Brilliant, good looking and intelligent Seamus Harper of the Andromeda Ascendant," the smaller man offered brightly.

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Oh yeah, Dylan thought, _Sounds like him._

"Uh huh…" Dylan walked over to the bed, "So…care to tell me how you got here?"

Harper smiled hoping to relieve some of the growing tension, "I thought you knew about the birds and bees?"

"That's not what I meant," Dylan kept his voice even, trying to keep the annoyance at a bare minimum, "How did you get onto my ship and no smart comments okay?"

Harper pulled the covers around his knees and sighed. He shivered as Dylan regarded him coolly. How was he going to say that he jumped into his teleportation device and landed here?

He ran a hand through his hair, ruffling it and causing it to go in all sorts of fun directions. He regarded his hands for a long second, he was covered in small nicks and cuts. Underneath his fingernails was blood, blood from Beka, Tyr…everyone he had encountered on the Andromeda.

"Mister Harper?" Dylan raised an eyebrow, "Harper!"

Harper snapped his eyes to Dylan's, "Sorry…can't say. Hey…would it be okay if I stayed here for a while?"

Dylan rubbed his chin, "That depends."

"On what?"

"You. Tell me why you're here and as to why and I'll think about it," Dylan offered.

Harper rubbed his face tiredly with cold hands, "I can't."

"Then you know I can't let you stay here," Dylan responded.

Harper fell silent as he looked at the deck despondently, Dylan saw a flash of what looked liked betrayal in the engineer's eye. It held so many emotions, hurt and surprise being the more discernable. 

"Thought I could trust you," Harper whispered softly, "I thought you could help. You're Dylan! You help everyone!"

Dylan frowned. He couldn't help but feel something for the small man. Even though he knew this wasn't his Harper, there still was that feeling of doubt in his mind.

"You have to see it from my point of view," Andromeda's captain explained, more for his own benefit than for Harper, "Would you trust someone who appeared outta nowhere?"

"I can't…Dylan…I really wish I could tell you. Really, ya gotta trust me on that but I can't," Harper desperately tried to keep his voice steady.

All that he could see running around his head was the gruesome scene he had witnessed on the bridge. Blood had spattered most of the usually sparkling bridge. Blood from one of his friends…

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Future Harper's past

He quietly crept up to the ladder, he could hear voices from the ever nearing bridge. Part of him knew that he shouldn't be anywhere near it, that he was disobeying Dylan's direct order.

The voices sounded like they were getting angry and Dylan very rarely got angry. Slightly miffed or annoyed but never ever angry. When things were going up the proverbial spout and everyone else were losing their heads, Dylan would keep his cool.

"Wonder what's goin on up there," Harper muttered softly, "Well…curiosity killed the cat and satisfaction brought it back."

Ah, you're no cat, as quick as you may be, _the reasonable little voice in his head reminded, _Aren't you disobeying Dylan's order by even being here?

Well…yes and no. I'm following Beka's order, _Harper paused, unsure if he should just accidentally 'drop in' on Dylan and the nice new friends._

Even if he cracked a few jokes, eased the tension that seemed to be rising on the bridge. The Andromeda needed this alliance, the Magog were on their merry little way, slowly munching their way through innocent worlds. 

His heart thundered in his chest, like it always did when he knew he was doing the wrong thing. What if he interrupted them while they were having a nice little chat and they were about to sign the charter to join the Commonwealth?

Gunshot's quickly laid rest to any and all questions that had been running through his mind. His heart stopped in his chest as he heard Dylan shout out to the ship, telling her to activate the security systems.

No matter how quick or indestructible everyone thought Dylan was, he wasn't quick enough to outrun his own death. Harper's eyes widened to saucers as he heard the shouts draw nearer.

Fumbling, he pulled out his weapon, hoping to whatever gods were listening that this was a whole nasty little misunderstanding and not the full blown attack that it was turning out to be.

Carefully, he dropped onto the bridge, barely hearing his own footsteps as his heartbeat drowned out any type of sounds. He could see Dylan at the other end of the bridge, force lance ready and aimed at one of the guests.

"Harper! Get outta here!" Dylan ordered, "Now!"

"Uh, Dylan? Everything okay?" Harper nervously eyed the scene, his finger just itching to pull the trigger.

Every Earth honed, Magog and Nietzschean tuned instinct screamed to him to fire on the lead alien. His blue eyes darted from Dylan to the main screen then back to the captain.

"Everything is okay," Dylan lied, he knew that Harper wasn't going to believe him, "Just a slight misunderstanding."

Harper said nothing but shifted his weight on the balls of his feet, getting his centre of gravity ready for a quick move. He swayed his hips almost motionlessly, his breath quickening slightly.

"Harper…it's okay," Dylan outstretched his hand.

"You told Rommie to activate her security systems," Harper ventured, "You don't normally do something like that unless there is a problem."

"Just showing our guests the Andromeda's security protocol," Dylan answered smoothly.

Had Harper been that little bit more naïve, he would of believed the man standing in front. As it was, Harper wasn't all that trusting of people he could trust.

"Harper, look out!" Andromeda's holographic AI screamed, her normally cool and collected voice filled with panic.

The genius of an engineer somehow found his reflexes being tested to the limit. He felt Dylan's large form crash into him, knocking all the oxygen out of his lungs.

Gunshots once again filled the bridge, amidst all the chaos, Harper swore he could of heard the mechanical footfalls of the Andromeda's security bots. They were quickly eliminated, not one having the speed to pull out a weapon as fast as a human counterpart. They all fell to the deck.

Harper didn't open his eyes, hoping that Dylan would get off him and make the situation right. Something wet and warm started to seep through his shirt.

"Dylan…hey Dylan," Harper couldn't stop the sickly feeling of dread creep up in his throat as he whispered.

"Harper? Harper…" the voice called out in a sing song voice, taunting him.

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